


sleepwalk

by cherrytreebridge (orphan_account)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Mafia AU, cw for guns, mafia boss suga, officer daichi, this was inspired by tiktok do not come for me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:34:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24330664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/cherrytreebridge
Summary: The officer in front of him is glaring with dark, narrowed eyes and pointed brows. His strong jaw is clenched in concentration, and his short hair is mussed, no doubtedly from the fray down the hall. His hands are holding his gun pointed directly at Suga. When the officer sees him, there’s a moment of confusion, and then slow, dawning realization.That same fall of his face is burned permanently into Suga’s memory, because he saw it eight years ago when he lied to his best friend. He forced himself to memorize it, because this was his punishment - to be haunted by what couldn’t be, because of him, because of what he did.Suga is terrified.
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 22
Kudos: 139





	sleepwalk

**Author's Note:**

> pov: you're me and you find the #karasunomafia tag on tiktok and now you have brainworms
> 
> this fic was highly inspired by (but not totally compliant with) the daisuga mafia au tiktoks by @rosiiate & @elmocosplay, plus videos by @godkinni, @sheepytea.cos, and @kelsanity94 !! some of the moments in this fic are inspired by specific videos by them (though i tried not to take them word-for-word), so be sure to go look at their work! everyone in the tags are also very talented so check that out too (#haikyuumafia & most all of the schools have their own tag too)
> 
> title comes from "sleepwalk" by hitorie, which is a song i had on repeat writing this

On the day of their graduation, the sky is as clear and blue as he’s ever seen it, light shining through cherry blossoms that are scattering in the wind. Sugawara Koushi runs up behind his friends Azumane Asahi and Sawamura Daichi, grabs them around the shoulders, and smiles bright enough to rival the sun. They both turn around and hug him, congratulate him on his salutatorian speech. As they pull apart from the hug, Daichi's hands catch his wrists - they make eye contact for just a split second before turning away.

When after the pomp and circumstance is finished and Daichi catches him outside the gym, fingertips on his wrist again as he says _“There’s something I need to tell you,”_ Suga’s heart jumps to his throat. A terrible, selfish part of him wants Daichi to _say it,_ for their three years of being inseparable to turn into a lifetime together. Today was supposed to be perfect.

When Daichi does say it, when he says, _“I think I love you,”_ Suga freezes. 

_I’ll stay,_ the conversation plays out in his head, the conversation from three months ago, the one that took place alone with the Boss, _I’ll stay after high school. Just don’t touch him._

He snaps back to the present and sees that with each passing moment of silence Daichi’s face is falling. Suga wants to scream. “I’m sorry,” he chokes out the lie between his teeth, “I just don’t feel the same.”

The look on Daichi’s face in that moment makes him want to pull his words back out of the air and bury them in the ground. He wants to turn back time to seven seconds ago, before they came out of his mouth, and change them to something along the lines of _“I think I love you too.”_ He wants to leap at Daichi and hold him and never let go. But he doesn’t. 

“I… understand,” comes Daichi’s strained reply. He dips his head and starts to turn away.

Suga’s hand reaches out before he can tell it not to. “Daichi-”

“It’s fine, Suga. I’m glad you told me the truth.”

_It’s not the truth. It’s not-_

“Congratulations. And good luck.”

Suga watches him for far too long, but Daichi doesn’t look back. 

* * *

Suga moved a finger for Kageyama to follow him. The younger boy took his place wordlessly at his side, straightening the lapels of his peacoat and dusting off his shoulders. Hinata and Tanaka took their places at the entrance of the alleyway.

“Will you be okay seeing him again?” Suga asked, and Kageyama pursed his lips.

“Yes,” he finally said. Suga raised an eyebrow but said nothing, walking towards the meeting spot with his hands nonchalantly in his pockets but purpose in his step. Kageyama followed, his steps quick and choppy, and Suga prayed that his nervousness wouldn’t be picked up on.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi were already waiting for them. Oikawa clapped his hands together and lit up as they approached, “Ah! Karasuno’s boss himself. And you brought my dear friend Tobio, too.” 

Kageyama scowled. Suga kicked his leg with the side of his foot. 

“Oikawa,” Suga greeted with a signature smile, “How are you?”

“Fine, fine. And you?”

“Excellent, now that I’m here to talk business.”

Oikawa laughed. “I agree. Enough with the formalities. I hear Karasuno has a new little nightclub in underground Tokyo. How much to get in on that?”

“Depends on what you mean by ‘get in on’,” Suga said, that same loose smirk resting on his lips. 

“We split 60-40.”

“Oh? And what do I get for it?”

Oikawa shrugs. “Extra bouncers, another pair of eyes to cross your Ts and dot your Is, someone else to help you cover your tracks.”

“Compelling argument.”

“Oh,” Oikawa sing-songed, “And I won’t tell Nekoma about the booze you’re smuggling into this place of yours. Especially since you aren’t going through them.”

Narrowing his eyes, Suga said, “How’d you learn that?”

“Doesn’t matter if they don’t find out, right?”

Here, Suga had many options, but they essentially boiled down to whether he trusted Oikawa or not. 

“Fine,” Suga said, extending his hand for the shake. “80-20, Nekoma hears nothing, and I’m all in.”

“70-30,” bargained Oikawa as he moved his own hand to hover near Suga’s. 

Suga smiled, shook the man’s hand. “Deal. Always good to see you, Oikawa.”

“The pleasure’s all mine. I’ll have Iwaizumi be in contact to hash out the details.”

Sugawara nodded, turning on his heel to make his way back to Tanaka and Hinata. Once they’re out of earshot, Kageyama whispered, “Why’d you take it? Seemed stupid to potentially piss off Nekoma like that.”

“I don’t trust Oikawa,” Suga explained without looking at him. 

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Just wait.” As they neared the end of the alley, he called, “Hinata!”

The redhead stood up straight, his head whipping around. “Yes?”

“There’s street clothes in the trunk, get changed. Tanaka, you’re driving.”

They dropped Hinata off a few blocks from the police station, and waited. Hinata took off at a dead sprint and rounded the corner, out of sight. Suga let out a sigh, leaning back in his seat, and drummed his fingers against his knees.

“I still don’t get it,” said Kageyama from the backseat. “I’m also not a fan of going straight to the police with info on Aoba Johsai.”

“Why not?” asked Suga. “Who’s going to suspect? Oikawa? I just made a deal with him, and this is old stuff I’ve been holding onto, anyway. The police? Hinata looks like any kid dropping off a tip on something suspicious he saw. No one would think he’s with us.” 

Kageyama thought about this a moment, and only responded with a hum. “Hinata does look like a kid, doesn’t he,” he mused to no one in particular.

Suga’s eyes were half-focused on the building in front of him, his mind wandering off. His thoughts went to Daichi - they always did, even now, eight years later. It was always the same memories that played through his head. Always the first day of high school, the first practice. The first Inter-High. Spending the summer together. Daichi becoming captain. The start of third year. Then the memories get faster and faster, merging together - the second Inter-High, the camp, Nationals, graduation, Daichi’s confession, Suga’s lie, the look on Daichi’s face-

Suga closed his eyes and breathed deep.

Eight years ago, Suga told the Karasuno mafia that he was done. He was young, and it only took one, two, three steps in the wrong direction to get stuck the way he did. When he said no, when he said he was leaving, he got the answer he was most fearing:

_This isn’t a club where you come and go as you please._

It got worse. 

_You’re good at this, Suga. You’re smart and cunning, you have a knack for talking to people and a gut feeling that doesn’t lead you astray. You’re reliable, and I like that._

Suga said no, and it got worse. 

_Don’t be stupid. Do you need a little convincing? I hear there’s a boy at school you can’t keep your eyes off of. Sawamura, was it? If you leave, maybe I’ll see if I can meet him._

Suga stayed. Suga lied.

Then, four years ago, assassination. Things were messy, and he saw it coming - but the Boss didn’t, and so a successor hadn’t been named. Karasuno splintered and fought with itself . In the ensuing vacuum, Suga made a decision: he wouldn’t be blackmailed again. Now, he would call the shots. 

The teeth he bared surprised even him, but he was hellbent and when he had a goal, he didn’t stop. He took leadership but didn’t stop there, restructuring from the ground up. He cleaned up from the inside out, cut ties with dangerous allies, and kept the books in order. It was a changed organization. 

By that time, though, it was too late. Even without the threat hanging over his head, it’d been four long years and Suga was in deeper than ever. He didn’t even know where Daichi was. Or if he would want to see him like this. 

Hinata approached them from the opposite side he originally left. He rapped on the door twice, and Tanaka unlocked it to let him in. 

“Any problems?” Suga asked as Hinata slid into the backseat next to Kageyama. 

“Nope!”

“Good to hear.” Suga’s lips turned up. Karasuno might be different, but he was still dangerous. 

* * *

Two weeks, and nothing from Oikawa. The cold cutoff from any communication was jarring, but the info he turned in was as leading as he could get without being suspicious, so Suga assumed no news was good news.

He was in Karasuno’s underground casino, in the office behind the bar. Nishinoya was serving drinks tonight, and he trusted him to keep an eye on things. 

He was pouring over records of their more public exploits, making sure fake business names and aliases match up. Suga read the same line six times and couldn’t get it through his head. His gut kept warning him that something was off, and his fingers drummed nervously on the beat up desk. 

He paused his drumming to grab his glass and take a drink. “Call in,” he said to the little bluetooth radio in his ear. 

“Fine over here,” said Hinata.

Kageyama’s voice came next. “Hallway is empty.”

“Normal night at the bar,” chimed Noya.

“Everything’s good outside,” Tanaka hummed.

Suga acknowledged and slumped down in his seat. He willed his heart to stop beating so fast and his stomach to stop churning, because everything’s _fine._

Not half an hour later, Kageyama’s voice was in his ear again. “There’s someone here.”

He sat up. “Keep an eye out. Do I need to come out there?”

“No, no, hold off. Let me watch.”

“There’s another one over here,” Hinata said. “Think they’re together?”

“Maybe. Both of you stay out of sight. Don’t want you drawing their attention,” Suga directed. His gut was right.

“I don’t see anything out here, but something’s off,” Tanaka added.

Noya’s voice comes through quietly. “Do you think-”

Then they all heard _Freeze, TMPD!_ and Noya’s loud “Fuck!” among the sudden upheaval of all the patrons.

Suga’s hands dropped to the books on his desk, flipping them closed, pulling them together and shoving them in a bag. “Dammit.”

There’s a gunshot and the ring of coins hitting the floor, and it’s so loud Suga can hear it from the office. 

“That was me!” said Kageyama. “Don’t worry.” 

Suga let out the breath he was holding. “I’m coming out.”

“Hold up!” Noya shouted over the sound of glass bottles shattering. “You should get out, Suga.”

“And leave you?!”

“Hinata’s already out! Tanaka’s with me. We’ll be fine,” Kageyama says. “I can see Noya from here, he’s got a path.”

“Knocked out the dude who was onto me,” Noya said, the grin audible in his voice.

“Still-”

Three more gunshots. The sound of Kageyama hitting something, hard, and Tanaka’s shouting. Suga’s pistol is in his hand, he’s ready to bolt-

“Suga!” Kageyama yelled, and right then there’s the sound of banging against the door to the hidden office, and Suga gets about three seconds to put his gun up before it busts down. 

“Freeze, Tokyo Police!” He knows that voice.

The officer in front of him is glaring with dark, narrowed eyes and pointed brows. His strong jaw is clenched in concentration, and his short hair is mussed, no doubtedly from the fray down the hall. His hands are holding his gun pointed directly at Suga. When the officer sees him, there’s a moment of confusion, and then slow, dawning realization.

That same fall of his face is burned permanently into Suga’s memory, because he saw it eight years ago when he lied to his best friend. He forced himself to memorize it, because this was his punishment - to be haunted by what couldn’t be, because of him, because of what _he_ did.

Suga is terrified.

They both stare, frozen, guns still pointed, for what seems like eternity. They each go through the denial - but no, despite everything, it’s the same face - and the bargaining, and the shattering realization that this is their reunion.

Suga’s voice cracks. “Daichi?”

“I’m going to close my eyes,” Daichi says, slowly. “And count to three. And you’ll be gone.”

“Dai-”

But Daichi scrunches his eyes closed and turns his face away. “One.”

Suga is frozen. 

“Two.”

One last look.

“Three.”

Suga is gone. 

* * *

  
  


They meet up a few blocks away in the darkened streets of Tokyo, and Suga takes headcount. A few are missing. He curses under his breath.

Hinata appears, breathing heavy. He’s favoring one of his legs, and Suga looks to see the other one is dripping blood. 

“Did you get shot?” Kageyama demands, rushing over. He has a bloody nose and a split lip, amongst generally looking pretty roughed up, but he balks away when Hinata sticks out his thumb to wipe off the blood.

“No, ‘m fine,” insists Hinata, reaching out again for Kageyama, who stubbornly refuses to let Hinata touch him. 

Noya and Tanaka are there too, though besides the broken glass sticking to Noya’s hair, they both seem to have surface-level injuries. 

“Damn sting,” Noya spits. “Who tattled on us?”

“Oikawa, I think,” answered Suga with a sigh.

Tanaka scowled, cracking his knuckles. “You don’t think they got ‘im from the stuff you turned in?”

“I think Oikawa and Iwaizumi are two smart, slippery bastards,” Suga replied. “This fucking sucks.”

“Seijoh will be onto us after this,” muttered Kageyama.

Suga ran a hand through his hair. “We’ve gotta regroup. Noya, Tanaka, go find Tsukishima. Kageyama and Hinata, you’re with me. The rest of you, go home. We’re going to lay low for a while.”

“Where are you going?” asked Noya.

“I think it’s time to pay our friends at Nekoma a visit.”

On the outside, Nekoma was a perfectly unassuming millionaire family. They owned a penthouse property in the heart of Tokyo and, despite being a staple, had mostly stayed out of the limelight for the past few years. 

In fact, under the quiet facade, the Nekoma syndicate was led by one Kuroo Tetsurou, who ran an underground empire bigger than Karasuno, one that perhaps rivaled even Aoba Johsai.

Suga popped his jacket and brushed at his bangs before using the sleek iron knocker to rap on the door. There was a silent pause. “It’s your friends from the dumpster,” Suga called, and the door slowly swung open, revealing one Kuroo Tetsurou to the Karasuno delegates. He dipped his chin, just slightly, in greeting.

“Kenma said to be expecting you.”

Suga grinned. “You never reply, so I messaged him on the way here instead. Did you hear the news?”

“Only what he told me. Rough night?”

“Rough night.”

Kuroo stepped aside, inviting them into the foyer. 

“Oh, they’re here,” came a voice from the landing, and they all looked up to see Kozume Kenma leaning over the balcony, watching them.

“Good to see you, Kenma,” hummed Suga, hanging his coat near the door. Behind him, Kageyama was holding up Hinata as he stubbornly refused help taking his shoe off his bad leg. Hinata yelped as Kageyama reached down to unlace his boot for him. Suga titled his head to Kuroo and winced, as if to apologize for his entourage. “I hate to be a bother, but would you have a place to put these?” he asked, holding up his bag of record books. 

“Of course. Come upstairs,” Kuroo replied, gesturing for them to follow before leading the way. 

Two staircases led to the landing where Kenma had first appeared. From there, the floor split off in two directions, and they followed to the right, where Kuroo led them through a small hallway until they reached the large, double-door entry to his office. 

Kuroo stepped to the side as they entered, walking towards an old oak dresser and pulling open one of the drawers, sliding his hand along the inside until something clicked and a panel slid out of the way on the side of the dresser. “Here.”

Suga thanked him with a dip of his head, moving to stow away his cargo. Kenma rummaged around somewhere on the other side of the room, producing a roll of bandages and throwing them to Hinata, who frowned but dutifully sat at the couch and began wrapping his bad leg.  
  
“So,” Kageyama began, taking in the sights of the majestic room - from the tiger-pelt rug to the red curtains obscuring panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Tokyo. “How much did Sugawara tell you about our night?”

Kuroo settled at his desk, tenting his fingers and placing his chin on top of them. Kenma propped himself up next to him, on the edge of the desk, and looked down blankly at his phone. Kuroo sighed, “Not much. Your message was a bit cryptic - on purpose, I’m assuming - but we think we gathered you got a sting.” 

“Yes, unfortunately, at one of our casinos downtown,” said Suga, sliding the panel back into place on the dresser and standing to full height. “Not too much of a skirmish, but it was rather…” he looked for the word, waiting for it to fall on his tongue. “Troubling.”

“How so?” pressed Kenma. 

Suga glanced at Hinata and Kageyama, who he didn’t think even knew what was most troubling about it all. “I think their detective is Daichi.”

Kageyama went pale, Hinata’s jaw dropped. Kenma’s face didn’t move but his eyebrows threaded together. 

Kuroo laughed. “No shit? Sawamura Daichi?” 

“Yes,” said Suga slowly. “I saw him. I… talked to him.”

Kageyama’s eyes are boring holes into Suga’s skin. Suga tries to convince himself there’s nothing weird - or worse, incriminating - about what he just said. There’s no way Kageyama could read him, no way Kageyama could know.

Hinata piped up, “What did you say?”

“Not really anything. We were mostly just in shock.”

“Wait, how’d you get away if you saw him? Slip past? Suga, did you shoot him?”

Suga hesitated for a long enough pause that Kageyama said, “Sugawara, did he let you go?”

Suga’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. 

“Sugawara.”

“Y…. it seemed like it.”

Kageyama bit his lip and shook his head. “Daichi was always a sap.”

“Out of any of us here, you two were closest,” Kenma observed, “Maybe he just froze.”

Suga didn’t mention how _deliberate_ Daichi’s decision was, how terribly _non-accidental_ it was. _I’m going to close my eyes and count to three, and you’ll be gone._

Kuroo spoke up, waving a hand in the air, “Then what brings you here? Is Kageyama too close to the source to take him out?” 

“No,” Suga replied, perhaps too quickly, as Kageyama blanched beside him. “No. We just needed to regroup, and I wanted to talk with you about it before-“

“Before Seijoh said something?” Kuroo guessed. 

Suga gritted his teeth, fearing what Nekoma might have already heard. “Yes. Have they?”

“Maybe, but I want to hear your side of the story first.” 

Both Kageyama and Hinata’s eyes flicked to Suga, who managed to keep his face still. Despite various levels of alliance over the years, Nekoma was still their rivals. 

“Oikawa came to me wanting a deal on the casino. I didn’t trust him enough to say no.” Suga paused, but Kuroo waited for more. “So I said yes and I gave out a couple tips on him instead.” 

Kuroo stared for a long time, face unreadable. Then he _cackled_. “And in exchange he turned your ass in. How ironic! That’s karma, Suga.” He scowled, which only made Kuroo laugh harder, bent over his desk. 

Kenma looked up. “Oikawa said you weren’t using our alc for your bar. As if we didn’t already know.”

At that, Suga’s face turned to a grin. “He thinks I’m fucking stupid. Joke’s on him.” 

“Yeah, well,” Kuroo huffs. “He’s always been like this. So you’re down one nightclub, both Seijoh and the Tokyo police are on your tail, and one of those Tokyo police is Sawamura Daichi. Does that about sum it up? What’s the plan now, Suga?”

Suga thought about it for a long moment, putting the pieces together in his head. And then he gave a deep sigh, because for maybe the first time in his life, calm, cunning, and ever reliable Sugawara Koushi had no plan, no ideas, no _clue_ what he was going to do.

“I don’t know,” he said, too shocked to bother lying in front of their rivals. Kenma looked up at him, eyes deadly serious, and the cocky look on Kuroo’s face fell to something that looked more like concern, or maybe even worry.

“That’s no good,” Kuroo whistled. 

Hinata stood and took a step towards Suga, his brow furrowed. “There is one thing, though. You said you and Daichi were shocked to see each other.”

“And?” Suga half-turned toward Hinata. 

“That either means they didn’t know it was Karasuno - which seems unlikely to me - or they don’t have your name, because Daichi would recognize it. Suga, they don’t know you’re the boss of the Karasuno Mafia.”

“Seijoh could've given it.”

“Unless they have an inside informant - again, unlikely - it would be incredibly telling for them to have names for an organization that only rose to power in the last four years, don’t you think?”

“Still - now they know, don’t they?”

“Do they?” Hinata asked, staring deliberately at Suga. “Daichi’s the only one who saw you, right?”

“And he let you go,” added Kageyama. 

The notion of Daichi covering for him - _protecting_ him - makes Suga’s heart race, and he hates it. It’s been eight years. If there’s anything his line of work has taught him, it’s that old loyalties can fade, and they can fade quickly.

Kuroo stands. “Well well, this is certainly shaping up to be interesting. It’s late, though - I’ll tell you what, why don’t you spend the night here and think over it?”

Kageyama’s mouth opened to decline, but Suga cut him off with a shallow dip of his head. “Thank you for the hospitality, Kuroo.” 

“Anything for you, Suga,” Kuroo purrs. Kenma stood to walk them down the hall to the guest room.

As they walk, Suga can tell that Kageyama is radiating frustration, and since Kenma is far enough in front of them he humors him. “What’s wrong?”

“This doesn’t feel weird to you?”

“No. We’re Nekoma’s guests.”

“It feels more like a hostage situation to me.”

Suga couldn’t help but let out a little laugh, despite himself. “A hostage situation that we willingly walked into an hour ago?”

“I didn’t know you intended on spending the night,” Kageyama shot back. “You don’t think Nekoma could turn us in, in exchange for some sort of amnesty? Or talk to Seijoh?”

His protegé is always thinking, always analyzing, and it’s what Suga loves about him, but he thinks the mental gymnastics Kageyama goes through every second of every day must be exhausting. “No, I don’t think Nekoma would have much more to gain from that right now.”

Kageyama just looked to the side, muttering a small noise of understanding. 

The guest room is warm and dark and lush, and looks out over the Tokyo skyline in the same direction as Kuroo’s office. Just looking at the bed makes Suga want to curl up and sleep for a year after the stress of the night. 

The Karasuno delegates filed in and Kenma waited by the door, casually leaning against the frame as if to block the exit. The hair on Suga’s neck stood up for just a second as he briefly worried that Kageyama might’ve been right, but then Kenma spoke unprompted. 

“Kuroo is loyal, almost to a fault. He’s also a charismatic leader and a dangerous enemy, but…” something about his demeanor changes, even though none of the features on his face do, “he doesn’t make a decision without me. And right now, I have no ill will towards Karasuno.” Kenma turned away, waving a hand. “See you tomorrow.”

“Does that answer your question, Kageyama?” asked Suga as he folded his blazer in half and gingerly took out his earrings. 

“Yes,” Kageyama muttered, staring at the door. He was obviously thinking about something, chewing on his lip as he was, but Suga decided it was best to leave it at that. 

* * *

Daichi returned to the station late that night. His movements were mechanical and automatic as he removed his bulletproof vest and turned it in before heading back to his desk, absolutely exhausted by the night’s events. 

“Sawamura,” called the captain, and Daichi looked up expectantly, “Good work tonight. I know the outcome was different than expected, but don’t dwell on it. Get some rest.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Daichi, suddenly left alone at his desk in the bullpen. He let his head fall into his hands. 

When the other officers had met up with him, they were greeted by Daichi in an empty room. _There was no one here,_ he had said, biting his tongue. _The lead was a dead end._ His colleagues had believed him at face value, because why would he lie? Daichi was one of the best detectives in the city.

It was reckless to let Suga go, he knew that. But in the moment, the shock of seeing Suga in front of him, alive, less than ten feet away, pointing a gun at him, and based on context clues, _running one of the most dangerous organized crime syndicates in Tokyo,_ he couldn’t think straight.

Part of him still doubted it was real, because when he opened his eyes Suga was well and truly gone. Maybe some sick part of his brain that hadn’t forgotten him - despite the rejection, despite a year-long stint with Yui after high school, despite eight years without seeing him at all - was so desperate to see Suga again that it imagined him. 

He wasn’t sure which was scarier, the imagination or the reality. 

With a heaving sigh, he grabbed his keys off his desk and made to leave, only to pause as he stood. Then after a few seconds of thinking, he grabbed Karasuno’s case file off his desk and turned for the elevator, flicking the lights on his way out.

Exhaustion was seeping through his bones by the time he made it home, but Daichi was still too restless to sleep. He tried laying there, staring at the ceiling, but his thoughts wouldn’t stop racing, and finally he gave in to making a cup of coffee and breaking open the Karasuno file in his dimly-lit kitchen. 

There wasn’t much there. Karasuno had been around for quite a while, but for a long time it had been more pressing to pay attention to other groups - Aoba Johsai, Nekoma, Fukurodani, Johzenji, for example. It was only in the last four years that Karasuno rose to prominence, and three years ago Daichi had taken on their case file as lead detective. In three years, he had almost nothing to show for it, though not for lack of trying. Karasuno was impossible to pin down. 

Until this week. Until he got something anonymous, leading him to the underground club on the edge of Shinjuku and the events of tonight. 

Daichi stared at the pages, head propped up in his hand. Something wasn’t clicking. 

Then suddenly he reached over to grab his laptop, refilling his coffee cup as it booted up, and settled in to investigate a hunch. The only thing that stopped him was when his body finally couldn’t keep up with his head, and he fell asleep right there at the kitchen table. 

He made it to work late the next morning - to be fair, he was amazed he made it in at all, after waking up to his phone alarm, a half finished cup of coffee, and his dead laptop.

“Daichi!” Azumane Asahi turned in his chair, surprised and happy to see his colleague. In all the years Asahi had known him, Daichi was never late to anything. “We were worried about you. You alright?”

“Asahi, I have a lead on Aoba Johsai,” Daichi walks straight to Asahi’s desk. 

“What?”

Daichi stopped right next to him, leaning over with one hand on the desk, the other handing Asahi a slip of paper. “See if you can pull the security tapes from this address.”

Asahi is too startled to question him. “Okay? Give me a second, I’ll let you know.”

A little later, Asahi calls him back over. “I don’t know how the hell you did it, but look.” He points at the screen, where a slightly grainy, black-and-white video clearly shows two men walking away from the alley. Asahi pauses the tape, his finger hovering over the two figures. “That’s Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime. How did you figure _that_ one out?”

Daichi shrugs. “A string of really, really lucky guesses.”

Asahi just shakes his head in disbelief, letting the tape play through. “I don’t know how you do it. But-” he paused, eyes on the screen. The tape had started to replay itself over, and something caught his eye. “Wait. There.”

“What?”

Asahi paused the tape. “There.” He’s pointing to two shadows also in the alleyway, facing the camera as Oikawa and Iwaizumi are turned away from it. “Who are they talking to?”

Daichi had a suspicion, but when Asahi zooms in he can just make out the loose smile, the shape of a face, perfect silver hair. Yes, the tape is grainy and dark, but Daichi knew he wasn’t mistaken because that’s the face that he knew by heart for eleven years, and the face he saw last night. 

For a second, just a second, the thought of lying to Asahi crossed his mind. But then something in him changes, and he thinks that this isn’t the same Suga as back then -

And he shouldn’t care about him. 

“That,” said Daichi firmly, “Is Sugawara Koushi, boss of the Karasuno Mafia.”

Asahi swung his head around to stare at Daichi with eyes wide. “That’s not funny, Daichi.”

“I’m not joking.”

“Christ.” Asahi ran his hand through his hair. “This is a breakthrough week for you, isn’t it?”

Daichi grits his teeth. “Like I said before. Lucky.” 

  
  


He and Asahi painstakingly worked the case for the next few days. The security tape gave them a reference point, so they started by pinning down locations, looking for patterns. They found a few old hotspots for Seijoh, but aside from the casino bust Karasuno turns up nearly nothing - Daichi is frustrated, but not surprised. 

He went back to the original tip that led them to the nightclub bust, even though three other times had given him nothing.

“You already compared the writing to the stuff we have on Oikawa from years ago,” Asahi reminded him gently. “It’s not the same handwriting.”

“I know, I know.” Something about it was still bothering him, though, and he couldn’t put a finger on it. “But the style is so similar.” 

“You must be imagining it.”

Daichi looked again at the scans on his desktop, of old handwritten agreements they got a hold of the last time they managed to track down Oikawa. They were old and the subjects in them weren’t relevant anymore, so they were functionally useless at this point, but Asahi had kept them anyway since the file on Aoba Johsai was still open. 

“What’s this here?” Daichi shuffled through pages and pointed to a section of one where the writing was slightly different. 

“I noticed, but I never paid it much mind; it wasn’t terribly relevant to that investigation. Why?”

Daichi smacks down the paper with the original tip on top of Oikawa’s letter. “Looks the same to me.”

“So Seijoh _is_ involved in this.”

“It would seem like it, somehow.”

Asahi pushed slightly away from his desk, leaning back in his chair. “Daichi, it would seem that we might have found ourselves in the middle of a turf war.”

“And what, you’re scared?” Daichi grinned. 

“Of course not.” Asahi threw a grin right back at him. “Let’s jump right in. Two birds, one stone, no?”

* * *

“Sugawara, let’s take down Seijoh.”

“No.”

“Why _not._ ” If Suga didn’t know any better, he would think that Kageyama was _pouting._

“Who’s going to go? Hinata’s still injured.”

“I’m _fine!_ ” The indignant yell came from the room over. Suga pinched the bridge of his nose. 

Karasuno had managed to regroup at their main operation, the ones who had been involved in the nightclub bust streaming in gradually over the last three days. Noya and Tanaka were still out looking for Tsukishima - Suga reminded himself to reprimand Tsukishima when he saw him next, because nearly a week now off the radar without an explanation was rather unacceptable, especially if he was new.

“Hinata, since you can hear me, go see Yamaguchi downstairs and ask him if he knows where Tsukishima is.”

A few minutes later Hinata poked his head into Suga’s office. “He said he’s not Tsukki’s keeper.”

“ _Ugh._ ” Everything about this situation was so terribly, frustratingly complicated. 

It did not make it easier that he was still thinking about Daichi, and about how he wanted him as far away from all of this as possible.

He pushed Daichi out of his head. 

_“Well, you have a few options here,” Kuroo said lazily, gazing at his guests. They’d gathered back in his office the next morning. “You could lay low for a while - always a safe option. You could build a bridge with Oikawa - though it might be a little difficult, given the mutual betrayal - but your initial refusal is what got you into this mess. You could, of course, track down Seijoh and rough ‘em up a bit - good old-fashioned scare tactics. I personally would go with the last one, and not just because it sounds like fun. You put your foot down and Seijoh thinks twice about their next move.”_

_“Is that a genuine recommendation, or a leading suggestion?”_

_Kuroo winked at him. It’s uncomfortable. “A genuine recommendation. We’re on good terms right now, aren’t we? I don’t have a need to kick you out of Shinjuku, but buying all of us some time without Seijoh breathing down our necks sounds great, doesn’t it?”_

_Suga nodded in agreement, though still cautious._

_He must have picked up on that, because Kuroo continues, “And as a gesture of my good will, I’ll give you the last place I met up with Oikawa Tooru, a couple months ago.”_

_“What’s the price for that?” Suga is half teasing and half serious._

_“Eh,” Kuroo grinned. “You can owe me one.”_

The place Kuroo gave them ended up being a coffee shop south, on the border of Shinjuku and Shibuya. Oikawa truly was insufferable. 

Suga pursed his lips, thinking. “Kageyama. Could you pull up this address on the map?” Kageyama does so, so Suga also requests, “And then this one, near where we met Oikawa.”

Both addresses were in the south of Shinjuku. Nearer to Shibuya than to the center of the city. 

Suga realized something suddenly, eyes wide as he stared at the map. “Son of a bitch.”

“What?” Kageyama said expectantly.

“The info I turned in was wrong,” started Suga, “That’s why it didn’t lead to anything. I gave them the description of a place in Shinjuku, when I should’ve given them the same description, same place - in Shibuya.”

“And Seijoh figured out that we were onto them because that’s a decoy,” Kageyama pieced together, looking at the ground. “Well, shit. _Now_ can we go after Seijoh?”

“It still might be too risky,” Suga said, and at that exact moment, his phone lit up, a message from Noya. _Found him._

The cogs in Suga’s brain are going so fast that he forgets he’s supposed to be mad at Tsukishima. _Good. Good, tell him we have work to do._

“Go get things ready,” he tells Kageyama, who almost lights up. “We’re going to Shibuya.”

* * *

“Are you ready?”

Daichi looked up at Asahi. They’re both braced right by the door, firearms drawn, waiting for the right moment to pounce. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“And if you see Suga again?”

Asahi doesn’t know. Asahi doesn’t know how hard it was for him to say what he said next, but Daichi had already come to the conclusion that his - no, not his, _that -_ Suga was already long gone. 

“If I see him again, I’m bringing him down.”

Asahi nodded solemnly. At this point they were counting down the seconds, readying themselves for the strike, when suddenly every light within a block radius went dark.

Both their eyes went wide as they stared at each other. _What now?_ Asahi mouthed, and Daichi jutted his chin towards the door. 

“Officer Sawamura, Officer Azumane, do you want backup now?” the radio buzzed.

Daichi replied quickly, “No, let us go in first. We have no clue what caused that, but we’ll call if we need it.” The officer on the other end of the line acknowledged.

With a sudden thought, Daichi tested the handle of the heavy metal door. Asahi looked at him like he was crazy, since they had expected to bust the thing down, but the door swung open effortlessly. 

“Digital locks,” Asahi said quietly. 

“That would make sense... It looks like someone else is here.”

“Did that work?” Hinata hovered over Tsukishima, who rolled his eyes.

“If it wasn’t going to work, why would I do it?” spat back Tsukishima.

Noya ran into the room, pausing at the entryway. “We’re good. Everything within a block is dark.” 

“It’s go time,” said Suga, swinging up from his seat, blazer hanging off his shoulders. “Let’s make this quick.”

“Get the exits,” Daichi commanded, and the officers who followed him and Asahi scattered. “It’s much too quiet in here.”

The emergency lights throw the warehouse into eerily dim light. They took a small hallway to the main floor, and despite objects impossible to discern that blocked his field of view in places, the space seemed utterly devoid of life. 

Then there was a gunshot, a spark thrown up into the air, and the entire floor seems to suddenly come alive. 

He and Asahi bolted in different directions to hide. Daichi found a spot in the corner behind what seems to be an abandoned machine, and then he heard the click of a pistol behind him. Daichi spun around, gun up and ready, and he’s surprised to see he recognized the figure glaring down at him. “Iwaizumi Hajime. We finally meet.”

Iwaizumi lunged, going for his head with the butt of his gun, but Daichi managed to duck out of the way and grabbed his wrist, twisting it behind his back and sending his weapon skittering across the floor. Iwaizumi’s head jerked backwards to hit Daichi squarely in the chin. Daichi recoiled, hand flying to his face, and Iwaizumi used the opportunity to make a bolt for his gun. Daichi thought for half a second about following after him, but there were voices closing in on him and no way he would let himself be cornered and outnumbered. 

“Asahi!” he called on the radio as he took off along the wall, trying to distance himself from the fray as much as possible. The radio stayed silent. 

_Shit,_ he thought, ducking into the first hallway he found and taking off. There’s a _Hey!_ from behind him, and he whips around to deliver two disabling shots to two guys who look like they’re from Seijoh. He hasn’t seen a single officer’s vest since the initial fight broke out, and it’s starting to worry him. 

The hallway split into two, and he darted to the right. He’s probably making a huge circle around the main floor, he realized, attempting to map the layout in his head. There’s a closed door to his left that seems like it used to be the main office of the warehouse, so he ducked in and shut the door behind him. 

There’s a figure in the room, attention turned to the bookshelf at the back wall. The figure had his back to him, but Daichi saw the dangling earrings, the grey blazer, the long fingers, the silver hair. Daichi pulled up his arms, pointing his gun.

Suga flinched and pulled his gun in one smooth motion, pointing it at Daichi. “You.”

“You.”

“What are you doing here, Daichi?” Suga said in a calm, measured voice. 

“Sugawara Koushi, you’re under arrest for your involvement with the Karasuno Crime Syndicate.”

Suga gave a laugh, a little _tch_ from the side of his mouth. “And if I don’t comply, officer?”

“Then I’m authorized to shoot.”

Something in Suga’s eyes changed, though he kept that charmingly disarming smile. “You’re not willing to let me off with a warning, as a favor to an old friend? Or did I already use up that privilege at the casino?”

They’re circling each other now, slowly, like sharks in the water. “I might be lenient for an old friend - but we’re not _friends_ , Suga.” Suga can’t stop his face from falling, just for a split second, before the mask is back on. “Friends don’t lie to each other. How long did you keep this from me?”

Suga’s mouth opened, but he didn’t get a chance to respond. 

“No, how do you think it feels to spend three years of your career hunting down someone you don’t know the name of - and then you finally, _finally,_ figure out who it is, and it’s you. It’s your best friend, who you haven’t seen in so long, and who-” Daichi told himself he was over it, that this was over, but the words are spilling out now, his voice shaking, “Who even after they broke your fucking heart, you’re still in love with. Even after eight years.”

Suga’s arms are falling slowly now, his confident, cocky exterior completely crumbled. Daichi could hardly stand to look at him. But Suga tucked his gun back into his waistband, taking slow steps towards him. Daichi backed away from him until his back hit the wall but Suga kept towards him, until he could put his fingers on Daichi’s wrist and gently push his weapon down. They were so close now, Daichi could barely breathe. 

Suga’s other hand came up to his cheek. “You’re right,” he says softly. “Friends don’t lie to each other.”

Then he leaned in and kissed him.

Daichi’s gun dropped out of his hands and they went to Suga’s hips, pulling him closer. Suga’s hand was on his face, the other one looped around the back of Daichi’s head. Everything about Suga is _soft_ and _good,_ and Daichi quite literally could not think of anything else.

Suga felt like he was eighteen again. This is what was supposed to happen after Daichi told him he loved him - he should’ve swept him up, kissed him softly, held him close. They would’ve fit together perfectly, just like they did now, because it was so, so obvious that they were meant to be together. When they broke apart, Suga would’ve said he loved him too, just in case Daichi still needed to hear it. He deserved to hear it. 

Now, here, when they finally break apart, Suga waits for himself to say it. It’s right there on the tip of his tongue. _I love you._ Daichi is right there, breathing heavily, his eyes still closed, his mouth hanging just slightly open.

Suga can’t say it. He wants to, but he can’t. 

Instead he untangles himself and Daichi presses his lips into a thin line, his eyebrows threading together in a look of devastation, eyes tightly shut.

 _I’m sorry,_ Suga mouths, knowing Daichi can’t see him, and Daichi lets his eyes open once he hears the door click shut.

Daichi sinks to the floor. _I fell for it. I gave the enemy a weakness, and he took it, and I fucking fell for it._ He lets his head fall onto his knees, still in shock, and berates himself for being so gullible.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm gonna plug all the tiktok creators again because credit where credit is due!!  
> @rosiiate & @elmocosplay (the daisuga plotline!)  
> @godkinni (kenma, kageyama)  
> @sheepytea.cos (kuroo, hinata)  
> @kelsanity94 (kuroo, tsukki, hinata)  
> & many others!
> 
> and thanks to v who pointed out that 85 and 25 don't add to 100. im gay and can't do math
> 
> ty for reading!


End file.
